Once Upon a Time Wiki:FAQs
This page will serve as a resource for frequently asked questions about the wiki's policies. General Wikia Questions I would like to help on the Wiki! What are some things I can do? *Contributions to the Wiki such as writing summaries, adding gallery images, finishing transcripts, and creating new pages are explained here. Who can I ask for help? *If you need any sort of assistance, please turn to any of the admins. We will be glad to answer any questions, or explain anything you are confused about! The active admins are: *Utter solitude *Nightlily *Applegirl *KyleBraxton *Nick Branson *Schroeswald I have a problem with an admin. What can I do? *If you have any issue with an admin, we ask that you discuss it with the admin directly, on their message wall or in chat. Community Central is the best alternative if you are not comfortable posting on a wall on this wiki. If you are not comfortable speaking with the admin in question, please take your issue to another admin. What determines an article's name? *Generally, the Wikia uses the name given in ABC's press release for article names. In the event of a character having more than one press release name, generally, the most recently used press release name is used as the character page name. This creates a solid standard for articles names that would be otherwise chaotic. *Additionally, some article pages are a mixture of both the press release name as well as the character's surname that is used on the show. Example: Mary Margaret is the press release name. Blanchard is her surname, and although the character is not credited as "Mary Margaret Blanchard" for the press release, it is used as her article page name. Why are character names on their individual pages bolded while other names listed are not bolded? *At the very top of character pages, there is always an introductory paragraph stating what is the character's name and who he/she is portrayed by. The sentence would follow as: "___ is a character on ABC's Once Upon a Time/Once Upon a Time in Wonderland". You may notice one, or several names the character goes by is bolded, or only one name is bolded while the others are not. This is determined by the name(s) the character is given on the episode press releases. For example, Mary Margaret's full name is Mary Margaret Blanchard, but only Mary Margaret is bolded on her character page because that is what she is listed as on the press release. In cases the character is listed as a name on a press release, but is also known by another name in the episode, the press release name would still be bolded while the other name may be added, but is not bolded. What are the abbreviations used on the Wiki? Several acronyms, mostly for locations, are in use on the Wiki in forums and templates. These are: Templates *EF - Enchanted Forest (Please note, FTL {Faiytale Land} is still in use on a few templates as they have not yet been updated) *LWC - Land Without Color *LWM - Land Without Magic *VE - Victorian England Fan Acronyms *TL - True Love *OTP - One True Pairing I have an idea for the Wiki. How can I suggest it? *If you have a suggestion or idea for the Wiki, you can suggest it to an admin on their wall, or use the Wiki discussion board on the forum. What kinds of Wiki article pages are allowed? *Pages for characters, items and locations are allowed and can created by contributing users. At this time, pages for relationships or ship pairings are not allowed, but if you feel differently and would have to contest the issue, discussion on the topic is always welcome on the Wiki discussion board. *Notably, the Wiki allows page creation for both major and minor characters, items and locations, but not for background-ish characters, items or locations. For specifics on what this means, please see this thread for further information and discussion. I want to use something from this Wiki on my own Wiki. Who do I ask about how it's done? *All of the design features on this Wikia are free for anyone to use. We ask that you credit us, or the originator of the code/design. If you have questions about how to implement anything, ask Utter solitude. How can I report issues with coding/templates or inform an admin about vandalism on the Wiki? *Issues with coding/templates can be reported here. Reporting vandalism can be done here. How can I request an admin to unlock a page for editing? *As a general rule, articles are left unprotected, and everyone is free to edit (The notable exception to this is that every article is move protected). There are, of course, exceptions. Articles will be locked on a case-by-case basis in the events of edit wars. Many templates are also protected, as they affect a large number of page and the risk of vandalism is greater. To request a page be "unlocked", please notify an admin here. What does it take to reach a consensus? The following are the different ways consensuses are expected to be reached in different situations: Infobox Image and Article Quote *For both adding or replacing infobox images or article quotes, a consensus is reached when 5 users agree or disagree with a suggestion. **If opposing ideas have similar number of votes, the voting can go on even after reaching a consensus. The image/quote edit will be made when 5 votes are reached, but consensus might change with further votes. Format and Article Name For Format edits specific to one page, a consensus is reached when most of the users agree on one point of view. Note that, for format edits that would affect many pages of a kind, the Forums are more appropriate than the comment sections. Similarly, for renaming an article, there is no specific number of votes needed. The discussion will be held untill it is clear most users want (or don't want) to rename the article. Images What kinds of images can I upload? The following are the only kinds of images allowed: *Episode stills - You must take these from an officially licensed source. This is limited to ABC's website, Netflix, Hulu, iTunes, Amazon, and Blu-ray/DVDs. *Promotional images - Only ABC released images are allowed, and only if they come directly from ABC. We currently have an official, sanctioned link to ABC for this purpose, and these images are uploaded by Utter solitude. *Cast and crew photos - Only use images that are authorized for public use. *Story and merchandise photos - Only use images that are authorized for public use. What kinds of images are not allowed? The Once Upon a Time Wikia is not a file repository. As such, any images not directly relating to Once Upon a Time will be swiftly deleted. How are images named? *A properly named image helps the Wiki stay consistent and makes images easier to work with. The naming formula is as follows: **'Episode stills:' "XYYZZZZZZZ.ext", where "X" is the season of the episode, "YY" is the episode number, and "ZZZZZ" is a brief description. "ext" is the file's extension type. Example: "101Emma.PNG" ***For Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, add a W to the beginning of the image name. Example: "W101Alice.jpg" **'Promotional images:' "XYYPromo#.ext", where "Y" is the season of the episode, "YY" is the episode number, and "#" is the number of the image in its set. ***For Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, add a W to the beginning of the image name. **'Behind the scenes images:' "XYYBTS#.ext", where "Y" is the season of the episode, "YY" is the episode number, and "#" is the number of the image in its set. ***For Once Upon a Time in Wonderland, add a W to the beginning of the image name. **'Story infobox images:' "InfoboxZZZZZZZ.ext", where "ZZZZZ" is the name of the story. **'Actor or crew infobox images:' "InfoboxYZ.ext", where "Y" is the initial of the first name, and "Z" is the initial of the last name. In cases where there is an existing image with the individual's initials, please also include the second letter of the first and last names. *Use proper grammar and spelling when naming images, and do not use punctuation (. , ! ' etc) *If you misname an image or need an image deleted, please notify an admin here. How can I change an infobox image? *To change an infobox image, nominate an existing, properly named image in the comments section of the article (please, do not put the photo in the comment, just link to it). You may nominate more than one photo in the same comment. Once this is done, five votes for one image are required to make a change. (Utilize this forum thread to help get users voting!) Please note that once five votes are reached and the image is changed, the comment thread will be deleted. Videos What should I do if I misnamed a video or uploaded a duplicate video? *If you misname an uploaded video or need a duplicated video deleted, please notify an admin here. Content What kinds of things are italicized, and what kinds of things are put in quotes? *The following should be italicized (in general, the title of any work that can be broken into smaller parts): **Names of television shows. (Like Once Upon a Time) **Names of films. (Like Hercules) **Titles of novels. (Like The Adventures of Pinocchio) **Names of music albums. (Like No Strings Attached) *The following should be "in quotations" (in general, the title of a smaller part of a larger work): **Episode titles. (Like "Broken") **Chapters of novels. (Like "Dead in the Water") **Acts of plays. **Song titles. (Like "This I Promise You") **Titles of fairytales. (Like "Cinderella") I think an article should be changed/I have something to add! What do I do? *Please, be bold and add anything you think may be useful, that complies with our policies and formatting. If you are not comfortable doing so, or are unsure about whether your addition is appropriate, use the comment section of the article to suggest your change. Why was my edit altered/removed? *Generally, users do not need permission to add, remove, or alter content on the site. However, all users should understand that all edits are subject to be changed by others. Someone may edit for grammar, to comply with the Wiki's style standards, or remove information they feel does not belong. *If you disagree with the change to your edit, use the comment section of the article to come to an agreement. You can get neutral opinions from other editors this way. If your comment thread doesn't receive enough attention in terms of user opinions, please create a thread on the forum's Wiki discussion board board. What history section do events belong in? *History sections begin and end when there's a big change in time, space, memory, or a combination of the three. In other words, a reality-altering event. The following table lists the different reality-altering events that warrant history sections. Note that these sections are meant to divide the history in very distinctive periods, and that plotpoints are not cutoffs, regardless of how crucial they are to the plot. For example, a villain arriving to Storybrooke is not an appropriate cuttoff. Vandalism If a troll or vandal strikes when there are no admins online, you can report them to Wikia's anti-vandalism Volunteer Spam Task Force on the VSTF Wiki or their VSTF IRC Channel. The VSTF is able to block trolls and vandals when no local administrator is available. Blocks and Bans Chat Category:Once Upon a Time Wiki